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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22775362">Chaotic Duos and Depression</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/interstellartreasure/pseuds/interstellartreasure'>interstellartreasure</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Gen, cloneweek, cloneweek 2020, shoutout to this for actually encouraging me to start writing again bsdfhjlsdjfsd</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 14:35:46</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,133</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22775362</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/interstellartreasure/pseuds/interstellartreasure</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>this piece is for cloneweek 2020, hosted by cloneappreciationweek on tumblr!<br/>day 1 - spare time<br/>---<br/>The commander’s work on Kamino grew monotonous years ago; her real joy came from the casual settings she found her vode’ika in. Drifter, despite her chiding, folded arms, and raised brow at the two kids in front of her, especially loved this part of the day.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Chaotic Duos and Depression</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>some context: i headcanon 99 as agender and strictly use they/them for them!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The commander’s work on Kamino grew monotonous years ago; her real joy came from the casual settings she found her vode’ika in. Drifter, despite her chiding, folded arms, and raised brow at the two kids in front of her, especially loved this part of the day.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Now, I shouldn’t be seeing you two in this area again, especially not with a real blaster.” She lifted the weapon she confiscated. The younger went rigid, but the older--fine with the nickname ‘C’--tried to speak up. Drifter cut them off, “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Not</span>
  </em>
  <span> unless you’re old enough to join Kamino Security. That understood, cadets?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, Drifter!” 6340 squeaked out, shifting closer to C, already lightly tugging at them to leave. C was caught up in questioning Drifter’s small smile with a slight tilt of their head. Even at eight--sixteen standard--they hadn’t yet realized how much the change from something as inaccurate as ‘sir’ to her own name meant. She was sure they’d ask her directly soon--tomorrow morning if they managed to find her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Go on.” She dismissed, holstering the spare blaster. The two scampered off hand-in-hand, back in the direction of the mess hall.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>C was certainly a bold one. In the five years Drifter knew them, thought he Kaminoans would certainly disagree, they had yet to disappoint her. At three years--six, standard--they first made themself known to her by ditching training in favor of mimicking what they noticed 99 was doing. It was kindness, but it was twisted to humiliate them. Even 99, though they appreciated it, felt incredibly guilty for their indirect influence; they tried explaining to C that their job was only for ‘defective clones,’ the phrasing which </span>
  <em>
    <span>all</span>
  </em>
  <span> of their siblings disagreed with once the Kaminoans left the scene.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Speaking of 99, Drifter meant to find them earlier. They asked if there were specifics on when the course challenges began for the older ones and, thanks to the Kaminoans’ meticulous scheduling, that information was easy to grab.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She returned the blaster, then tried calling 99. It took a few moments, but they did nervously answer, “Drifter?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“99,” She responded warmly, hearing a relieved sigh on their end. “I’ve got the squad schedules for you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh. Oh, already?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>99 thanked her, “I’m just outside the- the barracks with the three kids I was actually asking for. I’ll meet you here?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sure.” And Drifter set her path, already walking to them, “Give me a bit, I’m a bit further away than I meant to be, courtesy of the duo.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh no..?” Worry slipped into their voice, “What did C do?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nothing too bad, this once.” Drifter reassured them, after a moment adding, “But I will say I’m coming to you from storage.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Drifter!</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know, I know. It’s dangerous even if they </span>
  <em>
    <span>are</span>
  </em>
  <span> being raised to handle blasters like this. I’ll talk to Jat about it-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Jat?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“36, just got his name.” Drifter explained, “He was s’posed to take over for HN, but I suppose he didn’t realize they were in medbay. I’ll talk with him later tonight, but I’ll send Arch for now, I should pass vim on my way to you. Don’t worry.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll try not to, but I </span>
  <em>
    <span>will </span>
  </em>
  <span>talk with those two.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Drifter laughed, much to 99’s exasperation. “I already did. They won’t do it again, I’m sure.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I hope they don’t.” A moment’s silence, then, “Well, I’ll see you soon..?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, just a few minutes more.” And she clicked off. It didn’t take long for her to pass Arch, letting vim in on the situation. Vi understood the commander’s indirect orders and headed back to the area.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>From that, it didn’t take very long for her to reach 99 and two of the three who sat on crates beside them. One kicked their legs back and forth, tapping the surface. The other folded their hands, leaning over from the crate to talk with the elder. It was only after the fidgety one stood at attention that the other followed, muttering to 99, “You were talking to a </span>
  <em>
    <span>commander</span>
  </em>
  <span>?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They nodded to the cadet, then moved forward, opening their arms to embrace her. It lasted a few seconds before she chose to pull back, awkwardly glancing at the two beside them. She cleared her throat and offered the datapad, “Here. You didn’t specify, so I put all of the squads and schedules--there’s, uh, a list there-” She moved in to point to it, “-just at the bottom, with the designations for each squad.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you, again.” 99 beamed up at her. They searched through the list for the designations.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“For you, it’s never a problem.” Drifter smiled back, swiftly directing her attention to the two beside 99, “At ease, please.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Just as 99 began to explain they still had months before the challenges began, the third kid returned, walking down the hall toward them. 99 kindly waved, the kid rolled their eyes. They only cut the attitude when they noticed Drifter, immediately recognizing her rank. They gave a polite, curt nod to her before focusing on 99, “You found the schedule?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Before they could answer, the active kid peered over 99’s shoulder and exclaimed “You have to be </span>
  <em>
    <span>kidding</span>
  </em>
  <span>!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fives, please.” 99 pat the clone’s hand and Fives stopped leaning on them, giving a quick, apologetic look before turning to the newcomer.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“782, you’re in our squad.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>782 clearly had more to say but, being well aware of Drifter’s presence, settled with a dry “At least we know.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And at least we </span>
  <em>
    <span>are</span>
  </em>
  <span> together, eh, vod?” The other smirked at Fives, “Won’t have to put up with him alone. Besides, it’s still two-” A nod from 99, “Yeah, two months from now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Least there’s that.” Fives grinned back. They moved closer to their brother, nudging them to leave, “Right, well, see you ‘round 782.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, sure.” 782 sighed, giving a silent signal for 99 to hand over the datapad. He examined it, “I’ll tell the other two. We may as well start tryna practice more together.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sounds good.” The unnamed one acknowledged, then, “Thank you 99. You too Commander.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Drifter nodded. The two gave their goodbyes once more to 99 before walking back into the barracks. 782 handed the datapad back to Drifter with a stiff ‘thank you, sir’ after memorizing the other’s numbers he was to tell, wearily trailed behind them. Drifter winced, but brushed it off.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She turned back to 99, chuckling, “I suppose we both have an affinity for these kinds of kids.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>99 gave a nervous smile. “Suppose so.” They admitted, “I- The closer two have been rather friendly, offering their own ideas, asking me questions about the Kaminoans, and just… well, talking. It's nice. Even 782 is sweet most of the time. It’s just that he… well, these past few weeks have especially been difficult for him.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why’s that?” Drifter frowned. She sat on the crates, offering a seat for 99. They kindly declined, mumbling something about their back before answering.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“One of his batchmates was… ‘decommissioned.’”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No.” Drifter breathed. The Kaminoans were good at hiding what they could from her, but to have this kind of information slip by her? Impossible. “That young?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A tentative nod. “Afraid so…."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Why? Do you know?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"The Kaminoans said something about an ‘irregularity’ in them that would’ve killed them before battle got a chance to. They checked the rest of that batch, but whatever it was seemed isolated to them alone.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Drifter only kept herself still and her mouth shut out of respect for 99. Otherwise, she would’ve left midway to scour for the real reason herself, regardless of what consequences faced her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m glad 782 wasn’t hurt,” 99 continued gently, “I truly am, but it almost hurts me </span>
  <em>
    <span>more</span>
  </em>
  <span> to see him… like this. He was very close to them, he’s struggling without them. But he’s even said he can’t show that fact or the Kaminoans would take him too for being unable to cope.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I wish I could deny that.” Drifter muttered. 99 understood.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’s been trying to keep so much more control after it happened. Fives and 21-04 wanted to know if they’d stay together, and I would’ve still tried to ask you, but it was mostly his request that made me press the matter. He wanted to prepare just to... ‘prove’ something to them.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Reminds me of you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe that’s true.” 99 avoided her gaze, much quieter, “But he can’t end up like me. He can't.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Drifter placed a hand on their shoulder. They flinched. "99, that’s not our choice. We both know the Kaminoans are going to get their way regardless of what he tries."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Silence was their only response. While her words were true, it wasn’t what 99 needed to hear right now.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She slipped down from the crate--stubbornly ignoring the sharp pain which ran through her leg--to hold them. She lifted the datapad from them so they could wrap their arms around her too. They were quivering beneath her, breath uneven. She kept her grip loose, but still pressed a hand against their back, trying to soothe them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I’ll still do what I can." She promised softly, “Let’s get you somewhere quieter.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Thank you." Came the shaky, muffled reply.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>None of the other clones would mind 99 crying--in fact, they’d probably try to help Drifter in trying to console them--but that wouldn’t rid the elder of the humiliation of being caught like this. So Drifter carefully guided them to some of the currently-unused bunks in the back, murmuring a few words of comfort. They sat beside her, and she kept them close until they chose it was time to pull back. They still had trouble keeping their breath steady, and any clone could recognize 99 was much wearier, but they were no longer crying. Wiping their face, they choked on a rushed ‘sorry.’ She excused it just as quickly, instead asking “Are you okay?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Better.” 99 mumbled, barely biting back another apology. She let her hand fall to squeeze theirs.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Everythin’ will turn out alright.” Drifter said, “Besides, if they haven’t found anything wrong yet despite their intent searching, he’s already a step ahead than I was at that age.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>99 remained a bit distant, but managed a half-laugh at her exaggerated sigh and, “Can’t believe I’ll have to give up my rank to a </span>
  <em>
    <span>cadet</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>99’s gaze fell, and they slowly mentioned, “I have meant to ask about your leg though.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Drifter shrugged, not an encouraging sign for 99. They met her eyes, “I know you were just in the medbay this morning for it. Is it still bad?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No more than usual.” She waved their concern aside with a reassuring smile, “Only if I lean or step down on that leg first does it really flare up. I’ll be fine, swear it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t doubt you’ll push through regardless, but, just… take care, won’t you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll certainly try.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That was all 99 could do for now. They sighed, “What else do you have to do tonight?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not much,” Drifter took a moment to think, “I believe I’m done for tonight, other than getting Jat. I’ll wait to call him up though, ‘cause I do want to stay with you. Especially since last time the challenges began, we never got to see each other until the last week, where it was still rare.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah…” A hesitant pause, “Don’t strain yourself when it starts, okay?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You ought not either.” She nudged them with a playful grin. "Or else I'll stop those three and tell them they can only go to the next challenge if they help you clean up."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"They already have enough to work on without that-"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Ah, but they're still young and already stronger than you or I. Besides, no one wouldn't mind taking over for you if you felt too bad to."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Though 99 laughed again, they did wish Drifter would stop deflecting their worry with humor. Drifter wouldn't admit anything was wrong unless it was actively and obviously impairing her, but that wasn't healthy for her and it did, occasionally, worry 99 too. It was good she could endure it, but she shouldn’t have to.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>99 figured the least they could provide was distraction. Perhaps that was what she already went to them for. Of course, they never tried to think of that as the only reason. It’d bring them down further.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey,” Drifter squeezed their hand. She could tell when any clone was lost in their own mind, and she’s been around 99 enough to know when they were on the verge of degrading themself. They’d have to work on that, eventually.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She warmly smiled toward them, giving a heartfelt “Love you ori’vod.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>99 leaned into their sister’s embrace, returning the same, soft phrase.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>you can find me @cisphobicfives on tumblr! :D<br/>thank u for reading!! hope u have a good day</p><p>if you comment i would lay down my life for u</p></blockquote></div></div>
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